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Sunday, May 12, 2013

A few years back I went on a frustrating search for a perfect sandy tan color nail polish. Everything I found was too brown or too yellow. I gave up eventually, sad and broken hearted. Then, I opted into a great deal on 3 butter LONDON polishes and found myself face to face with All Hail the Queen, my perfectly sandy beige polish.

All Hail the Queen is a rosey taupey sand color with a hint of pink iridescence and silver and pink micro sparkle.

Close up

One coat on the left, two coats on the right

This color is true to the bottle color and was opaque in two coats

Final Thoughts

I love this polish! The color was exactly what I was looking for, a beachy beige that was neither too brown or too yellow. The little hint of pink you catch as you move your fingers is very pretty and makes this polish a lot more interesting when you see it in person. The polish formula is smooth and easy to use. It is neither runny nor thick and you easily reach opacity with two coats.

The one issue I've had with butter LONDON polishes is their tendancy to flake around the tips after a few days of wear. I am very hard on my nails so maybe this isn't a fair test, however where some polishes chip, this one seems to flake. It is that tendency to flake that keeps me from buying more butter LONDON polishes. At the very least I will wait for a sale of some sort, because they do have quite a few shades I would love to try.

Last year I was turned on to the services of Anastasia, a brand synonymous with neatly groomed and shaped eye brows. Having suffered a few self inflicted eye brow tragedies, and a few I paid good money for, I was happy to find an eye brow service I could trust.

One of the first products I bought from Anastasia was a pack of eye brow stencils. My eye brow consultant helped me find my correct shape, High Arch, and after seeing it in action, it was a no brainer to pay the $20 for the stencil pack. As time passed, I wanted to enhance my eye brow wardrobe so I decided to pick up the Anastasia Beauty Express Kit for Brows and Eyes.

This kit has everything you need to style and groom your brows. It comes with cream brow shaping wax (top left pan) two shades of eye brow powder to fill in your brows (this kit is Brunette), and two neutral shadows (one matte, one shimmer) that can be used to highlight your brow bone. It also comes with 5 stencils for various brow shapes and a high quality angle brush to apply the powder/waxes to your brows.

The brush is made of dense synthetic fibers and can be used with the wax or the powders. I like to use this for the wax since it is stiffer, for the brow powder I use something slightly softer like a MAC 266. I think it gives a more natural line that won't require as much softening after the fact.

The Anastasia Beauty Express Kit comes with five eye brow stencils. Slim High Arch, Petite Arch, Medium Arch and Full Arch. You can mix and match stencil if needed to find your perfect shape.

Here is a before and after from my very first trip to Anastasia

Before

After

Final Thoughts

First, I can't recommend Anastasia's eye brow shaping services enough. I've paid decent money for some truly awful eye brows. The Anastasia artists work with your natural shape and fullness to give you the most flattering brows for your face and they show you everything and explain it so you can get the same results at home. I spend $30 every 6-8 weeks and it is well spent.

The Anastasia Beauty Express Kit is amazing for the price. It retails for $39.50 and contains over $100 worth of product in a kit that fits in the palm of your hand. The set of 5 stencils alone retails for $20. This is just an amazing value for your money and it will last you forever!

Currently looks as if this kit is offered in Blonde and Brunette. The kit pictured here is Brunette.

Where to Buy: Sephora or Nordstrom or your local Anastasia Counter.
Price: $39.50

Sunday, May 5, 2013

I have so many wonderful Essence top coats to share with you all! Their line of Special Effect Nail Toppers are a fun way to add some flair to your existing nail polish wardrobe. The first topper I tried way back when was Night in Vegas.

Night in Vegas is an iridescent flake top coat consisting of flakes suspended in a thick clear jelly base. These flakes flash from gold, to copper, to green depending on the way the light hits your nails.

Close up, you can see the flakes reflecting the light in the bottle

Night in Vegas over a bare nail.

Here is where this top coat comes to life. Here is one coat over Wet 'n' Wild Ebony Hates Chris. When used over a dark base this top coat shows it's inner fire.

Final Thoughts

Night in Vegas is simple, yet stunning. I've used this with a few simple tape manis and over the tips of a french manicure and it does a great job of adding visual interest to you nails. The formula is thick and can be a little tricky to work with. The key is to apply a thin coat over your base color. You don't need to hunt for flakes or apply multiple coats. One thin coat will give you great coverage and tons of flakes. Occasionally if I am tough on my nails, I get some chips around the tips, but nothing consistent. So far I'm up to 6-7 Essence top coats and I love every one.